Ch. 41..50
Chapter 41 Already Defending Her
To have a celebrity boost the popularity of one’s design was an extremely rare opportunity, and yet, Christina was throwing it away as though it didn’t mean a thing to her.
Xandra’s face was twisted with rage after she heard what Christina said. She jabbed a finger at Christina and shouted in a trembling voice, “You dare ask me to take this dress off? You think I won’t do it?”
Xandra then tugged hard at the zipper on the dress as she continued insulting it. “Your crappy dress isn’t even worthy of being used as a rag!”
The flames of anger burned brightly in Christina’s eyes when she saw that the dress, which she had spent a whole month working really hard on, was compared to a rag.
Had she not been raised well, Christina probably would have lunged at Xandra and ripped her hair out on the spot.
While she was fine with others insulting her, her pride as a designer refused to tolerate insults to her designs.
Besides, a model hating their outfit was one of the worst things that could happen when it came to fashion shows. After all, they wouldn’t be able to showcase the outfit’s beauty, and nobody would want to look at a model with a grumpy expression.
While the models would usually wear serious expressions when walking down catwalks, they were doing it to showcase attitude, but in a good way.
“Take it off, then. Will the makeup artists please help Ms. Sullivan with the dress?” Christina said with a firm look in her eyes.
She only asked the staff to help Xandra with the dress because she didn’t want Xandra to ruin it on purpose.
All Christina wanted was to showcase that dress, so she couldn’t care less about using celebrities to boost its popularity.
Xandra’s face clouded over when she heard that. This was probably the first time she had ever suffered such humiliation since her debut in the entertainment industry.
I didn’t make it this far just to have some nobody insult me like this! I’ll be sure to get my revenge!
After changing into her casual outfit, Xandra glared daggers at Christina and threatened, “Just you wait! I’ll make you regret this!”
Christina pointed at the door. “You may see yourself out now.”
Xandra clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles made cracking noises as she left with her assistant.
Christina’s mind was in a mess at the time, so she couldn’t be bothered to worry about Xandra getting back at her. Right now, I need to find myself a new model.
With that in mind, she turned toward her assistant, who was still frozen in shock, and asked. “Could you go find me a new model? I need one urgently.”
Having snapped out of her daze, the assistant told her that there were no more candidates available.
Christina gasped in shock when she heard that.
Oh, no… This is bad… How will I present my design without a model? I don’t want to lose out on such a great opportunity just because of Xandra, but I don’t know what I can do…
That was when her gaze fell upon her assistant, who was standing next to her. Hmm… She’s slender and has pretty eyes that go well with her facial structure. Most importantly, she’s tall enough to make this work!
“How about you be my model instead?”
Although the incident in the dressing room earlier had happened behind closed doors. Xandra gave Zachary a call to rant about it immediately after storming out of there. She also had her assistant write an article about that incident and publish it on the internet.
“Hey, Zachary! I only agreed to model for your show because you invited me, but your staff, Christina, told me to take the dress off! She had no respect for me at all!” Xandra exclaimed in a shrill voice.
I am a celebrity! I will not allow a mere designer to humiliate me like this, or I will become the laughingstock of the city!
At that moment, Zachary and Nathaniel were sitting in the VIP room and waiting for the show to start.
While it was perfectly normal for Zachary to be there, Nathaniel was only there because of Christina.
Having worked continuously for over twenty hours, Nathaniel was both physically and mentally drained.
He only stayed so he could bring Christina home as soon as the show was over.
As such, he was not expecting to hear such news before he even got the chance to behold Christina’s design.
Nathaniel’s lips curled into an impressed smile when he heard that Christina had completely shut down a nasty woman like Nandra.
Zachary shot his friend a displeased glare while apologizing to Xandra over the phone, comforting her.
He then confronted Nathaniel immediately after ending the call. “I understand that Christina is very beautiful and all, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to be dating your own employee.”
There was a hint of jealousy in his voice when he said that,
I still remember the way Christina made me feel when I first saw her. I can’t believe Nathaniel managed to beat me to her!
Nathaniel simply shot him an icy-cold gaze without saying anything
“Because you’ve been backing her up, she now has the audacity to offend celebrities! Is she going to disregard my authority as her boss too?” Zachary continued.
“What’s there to respect about you? She is to be treated as my equal from now on, so I will come for you if anyone dares hurt her!” Nathaniel replied.
“Already defending her, huh? I suppose even the greatest of men can’t resist the charms of a beautiful woman!” Zachary protested with a pout.
Nathaniel shot him another cold gaze, warning him to shut up.
Fortunately for Christina, her design was the last to be presented, so she had plenty of time to doll her assistant up.
After getting her assistant ready. Christina gave her a little pep talk before it was her turn.
The assistant encouraged herself inwardly before making her way over to the right side of the stage. She was supposed to walk in syne with the music alongside a male model and get off the stage after showcasing their outfits.
Upon receiving a verbal cue from the backstage crew, she then stepped out with her head held high.
The spotlight helped highlight the fine details of the dress when it shone on her, especially the perfect. design and expert tailoring. The dress was also form-fitting, which accentuated her feminine curves even more. Christina used silk as the dress base material and added a thin veil over it, which made it look all the more elegant.
As the assistant and the male model walked down the catwalk in sync with the music, they looked so great together that the audience gave them a huge round of applause.
Many even took pictures of the two and uploaded them online.
Christina’s lips curled into a satisfied smile as she admired her dress from beneath the stage.
Who says you need a model to showcase your outfit? Anyone can steal the spotlight as long as they’re confident enough!
“The design looks gorgeous, Radiant Corporation could use this dress as its flagship product for the year, Nathaniel said, his deep voice sounding pleasant to the ears,
Christina turned around and saw that he was standing right next to her. Nathaniel exuded a powerful air of elegance and pride that could win the hearts of any woman he encountered.
“What about the male model’s outfit?” she asked.
“It looks nice,” Nathaniel replied with a smile.
Christina let out a chuckle as she said. “I think so too. It was designed with you in mind, so it’s bound to look nice. I bet it would look even better on you!”
Nathaniel propped his chin up with one hand and shot her a glance. “Then maybe I should charge you for using me as your model,” he said while inching closer toward her.
The sexual tension in the air continued to rise as their faces got closer and closer to each other.
“Wait! We’re in public right now!”
Chapter 42 Let Me Stay The Night
He had her fingers tightly wrapped within the palm of his hand while he gently caressed them as if he was playing with a cute kitten.
Christina knew that she should pull her hand back as they were standing in a public area. Though the spot they were at was inconspicuous, they were still surrounded by people.
Staff and crew members would pass them by from time to time, so it was possible that someone would notice them standing next to each other.
The lighting in the area was dim, but people could still notice them holding hands if they looked closely.
Despite so, Christina was enjoying the warmth of his touch so much that she just stood there and stared dreamily at him.
Her heart was beating rapidly as though she were a high school student falling in love for the first time. It was an incredibly thrilling sensation to sneakily do something she shouldn’t have while at risk of being caught.
It wasn’t until the fashion show was coming to an end that Christina quickly pulled her hand back. “I need to head backstage now.”
Nathaniel flashed her a smile and watched as she ran off.
Because the fashion show was very successful. Zachary wanted to reward the staff by treating them to a barbecue. He then proceeded to make the reservations and told them to head over to the restaurant shortly after.
As Zachary had offered to treat them himself, the staff would have to go even if they didn’t want to.
It was about eleven by the time they were done cleaning up. Christina saw Nathaniel waiting for her next to his car the moment she stepped outside.
The moonlight cast a faint silver glow over his slender figure and gave him an air of mystery,
There was, however, a hint of exhaustion on his handsome face, which was probably the result of his overworking.
Christina made her way over and asked worriedly, “Are you tired? Let’s go home, okay?”
That was when Gina called and urged her to head over to the barbecue place. As her design was the spotlight of the fashion show, everyone wanted to have a chat with her about it.
Oh, well… There goes my plan to head home early… If I don’t go, everyone’s going to be upset with me for being a killjoy. I suppose this is just something you have to deal with when you’re in the corporate world. There are bound to be social gatherings that you simply have to attend.
With that in mind, Christina flashed him a sweet smile and said. “How about you head on back without me? I’ll just go there and hang out for a bit. It won’t be long.”
Nathaniel patted her on the head and tousled her hair. “I’ll go with you. Come on,” he replied while opening the car door for her.
He then got into the car and drove straight toward the barbecue place.
Dozens of staff from two departments attended the gathering, so the entire restaurant was filled with Radiant Corporation’s employees.
The atmosphere was merry as the staff chatted away happily with each other. However, the entire place fell completely silent the moment Christina and Nathaniel entered the restaurant together.
After all, they were not expecting to see their boss at the restaurant, especially with Christina by his
side.
Realizing that the atmosphere had become tense because of his presence, Nathaniel waved at them and said. “No need to be so tense, you guys. Just relax and eat to your hearts content.”
Having received the green light from Nathaniel, the staff slowly reverted to their relaxed and merry state from earlier.
As the two continued making their way inside the restaurant, Zachary called out to them from a table with lots of pretty women. “Come join us!”
Nathaniel and Christina then sat down next to Zachary with Nathaniel sitting in between them. As Nathaniel wasn’t hungry, he just sat there with a solemn look on his face.
The women at the table were all team leaders in the company. Their hearts were racing like crazy because it was their first time being this up close and personal with Nathaniel.
Some of them tried to build a closer relationship with him by raising their glasses at him, but he declined their toasts with the excuse of having to drive later.
As such, they decided to shift their attention toward Christina instead. Since she was a junior at work, it would be rude for her to decline their toasts.
Christina had no choice but to take small sips for every toast. Fortunately, they didn’t deliberately. make things difficult for her, but even so, she still ended up downing a few glasses of wine after several
rounds.
Being a lightweight, that was all it took for her to start getting dizzy.
Nathaniel seized the opportunity to carry her in his arms and told them, “She’s drunk, so we’ll be heading back now.”
Although Christina was a little tipsy, she was still conscious and aware of what was going on around her.
Why did Nathaniel have to carry me like this in front of everyone? What would the other colleagues think of us? As if that isn’t bad enough, he even mentioned that we’ll be heading back together! That’s pretty much hinting to
that we’re staying under the same roof? There’s no way I’ll be able to lie my way out of this one!
everyone
With that in mind, she pretended to be unconscious to avoid meeting her colleagues nosy and curious. gazes while Nathaniel carried her out of the restaurant.
The cold night wind outside helped clear her head up a lot.
“How are you feeling? Does your head hurt? Would you like to drink some water?” Nathaniel asked as he carefully placed her in the passenger seat before caressing her forehead.
Apart from slight dizziness, Christina did not feel any other discomfort. “No, let’s go home. I’m tired.” she replied while shaking her head.
Nathaniel nodded and made his way over to the driver’s seat. He then rolled down her car window by a little to let some fresh air into the car.
Christina’s long hair fluttered in the wind while the light from the street lamps flashed past her beautiful face, casting shadows under her long eyelashes which gave her an air of vague sexiness.
She was so tired that she dozed off after a few minutes. Seeing as she was still asleep when they arrived. home, Nathaniel parked the car outside the house and waited patiently. By the time she woke up, it was already one in the morning.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” she asked while unbuckling her seat belt.
Nathaniel was tired too, but he chose not to wake her up because he wanted to gaze at her for a little while longer. “Because you looked really tired.”
Christina felt a warm sensation in her heart when she heard that. It felt as soothing as snuggling against a heater in winter.
While glancing shyly at him, she noticed that Nathaniel looked even more tired than before. The dark. circles under his eyes were obvious. “It’s really late. You should hurry up and head home.”
She was about to open the car door when she felt something press down on her shoulder.
Upon turning around, Christina saw Nathaniel leaning against her with his head on her shoulder. “It is indeed really late, and I am really tired. Would you let me stay the night?” he asked while nuzzling against her neck.
“Huh?” It took Christina a good few seconds to realize what he was saying
Nathaniel wants to stay over at my house?
Her face burned bright red as she stammered nervously, “B-But I don’t have any clothes for you to change into, a-and it’d probably be uncomfortable for you to sleep in those slacks.”
Nathaniel deliberately rubbed his lips against the delicate skin of her neck as he replied, “I go on business trips often, so I have some spare clothes in the trunk.”
Christina tensed up like a frightened animal. “I only have one bed, though.”
“We’ll just cuddle in bed. It’s really late, and I have been working all day without getting any rest. My
Nathaniel head is all woozy now. You wouldn’t want me to drive home in my current state, would you?” said lazily.
Sure enough, playing the sympathy card worked really well against Christina. As she was unable to think of a reason to refuse his request, she had no choice but to let him stay. “A-All right, then…”
They had to be very quiet when making their way through the living room as Evelyn was already asleep when Christina led Nathaniel into the house.
A faint feminine fragrance greeted Nathaniel’s nose the moment he entered her bedroom.
Chapter 43 Try To Persuade Him
As though she was afraid of being caught with a man in her room, Christina immediately shut the door behind her.
“Hurry up and go take a shower!” she said while shoving him into the bathroom and shutting the door.
Nathaniel snickered when he saw that almost everything in the bathroom was of a feminine color. There was a pink toothbrush, a pink towel, and a floral scent in the air.
It wasn’t long before he was done showering and stepped out of the bathroom. While waiting. Christina took a shower in the bathroom in the guest room. She looked really adorable with her face all red after blow-drying her hair.
She returned to her bedroom with two glasses of milk. “Here, drink this and go to bed,” she said while. handing him one.
It was already half past one at the time. Christina would never stay up so late if it weren’t because of work.
“Are you that eager to cuddle with me?” Nathaniel asked with a soft chuckle as he sipped on the milk.
Christina’s cheeks, which were already red from blow-drying her hair, got even redder after she heard that. He looked really tired while he was in the car earlier, and yet, he seems pretty energetic now. I feel like I’ve walked right into a trap by taking him in….
She gulped down her milk in one go and wiped the stain off the corner of her lips. “You’re sleeping on
the floor.”
Oh, no… I shouldn’t have teased her like that! She might actually make me sleep on the floor!
Nathaniel placed the glass down and wrapped his arms around Christina’s slender waist as the two of them lay down in bed.
Nathaniel caught a whiff of the faint, gentle fragrance from her hair as she snuggled in his arms,
“Could you leave earlier tomorrow?” Christina asked while looking at him with her crystal-clear eyes.
Granny doesn’t know that I’m married, so it’d be really hard for me to explain myself if she sees him. I shouldn’t have brought him into the house!
“You want me to leave through that back door again?” Nathaniel asked with a snort.
I’m the CEO of Hadley Corporation, and yet, I have to sneak in and out of my wife’s house? We’re a legally married couple!
“But my granny hasn’t seen you before. She doesn’t know about you at all, so you’ll scare her if she sees. you all of a sudden. How about I find an opportunity to formally introduce you two? That way, she’ll be more likely to accept you.”
“When will you introduce us?” he asked, seemingly excited.
Christina was only saying that to brush Nathaniel off as she wasn’t planning on bringing him home every day, but he took it very seriously.
When Nathaniel didn’t get a response from her, he shot her a gaze that said, “You’re not saying that just to brush me off, are you?”
Christina suggested. “How about the tenth of next month? It’s my granny’s birthday. I’ll get you two formally introduced then, okay?”
Sure enough, Nathaniel agreed to it in a heartbeat.
I can’t force Christina to stay in Scenic Garden Manor if she doesn’t want to, but I can’t be sneaking into her house every single time I come over either. If I can get on her granny’s good side, then it’ll make spending time with Christina a lot easier. I wouldn’t have to use the back door whenever I plan on staying over anymore. This is like killing two birds with one stone!
Feeling a lot better, Nathaniel leaned in close and gave her a gentle kiss on the earlobe. “You smell really nice. Darling”
Christina felt as though all the cells in her body were stimulated when she heard him call her “Darling” in that seductive voice of his.
He hardly addressed her so affectionately, which made it sound all the more intimate. Oh, my goodness! It feels like we’re a newlywed couple!
“Hurry up and go to sleep… Christina mumbled.
Nathaniel let out a soft chuckle in response.
Heh… Does she really think I’d be able to fall asleep like this? She looks like a newborn baby with her skin slightly pink from the hot shower. It makes me want to just hold her tight and love her right!
He then instinctively moved his lips down to Christina’s neck and gave her a gentle nibble.
Nathaniel thought he had hurt her when he heard a groan, only to look up and realize that she had already fallen asleep.
Wow… Am I really that unattractive? How is she able to sleep so soundly with a hot guy like me lying next to her?
He let out another chuckle and gave her an affectionate pinch on the nose before pulling her closer.
It wasn’t long before he, too, fell asleep.
The two of them then slept soundly until the rays of the morning sun shone through the window.
Christina was nestling on Nathaniel’s chest like a kitten as she whispered, “Come on, wake up! Granny just went out to buy breakfast, so you can leave through the front door.”
Nathaniel’s insanely busy work schedule would usually leave him sleep deprived, so he had not slept. that soundly in ages. Even when he did manage to get enough sleep, he would be tense from all that
stress.
The next thing Christina knew, he had grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her against the bed. “Give me a morning kiss, will you?”
He then kissed her on the forehead before she could even respond.
His lips felt warm to the touch, and his body was exuding a faint masculine fragrance that got her heart
racing. It could be best described as the tempting scent of freshly ground coffee beans.
“Cut it out, will you? You need to get going before Granny comes home!” Christina exclaimed while pushing Nathaniel off her.
She then handed him his formal clothes and urged him to get changed.
Fortunately for her, Nathaniel gave her his full cooperation and was done changing fairly quickly. “Come and help me with my necktie,” he said to Christina, who had her back facing him.
The woman slowly turned around to see Nathaniel in his white dress shirt and a pair of slacks that accentuated his slender legs. His black necktie was hanging loosely from his shoulder.
As Christina was a fashion designer, she was familiar with neckties and got it done in just a few
seconds.
Having gotten him dressed, Christina began dragging him out of the house. His black car was parked diagonally across the front door. She was about to shove him out the door when he turned around, wrapped his arm around her waist, and gave her a kiss on the lips.
“I’ll be on my way now, Darling!” Nathaniel said with a chuckle,
“Hurry up and get out of here!” Christina was burning bright red as she pushed him out and shut the door behind her.
After she ran back to her bedroom and saw his pajamas on the bed, she couldn’t stop thinking about. the kiss goodbye he just gave her.
Nathaniel and I sure have gotten a lot more intimate lately….
Christina hurriedly got dressed and headed out after a quick breakfast.
Nathaniel sent her a few short texts after she arrived at work, and the two of them started going about. their business as usual.
Christina’s phone started ringing all of a sudden at noon. She answered the call without checking the caller ID, only to hear Gideon asking, “Hey, Christina! Didn’t I tell you to show Nathaniel the
collaboration proposal? It has been a week now! Why hasn’t he responded yet?”
“Oh, I showed it to him. He didn’t want to collaborate with you,” Christina replied with a frown.
In reality, she didn’t even ask Nathaniel about it.
“Then why didn’t you try to persuade him into collaborating? Talk to him about it every night or something! Why are you so stupid?” Gideon shouted angrily.
Angered, Christina snapped back at him, “Yes, that’s how stupid I am! We don’t even live together, so you can forget about using me to get anything out of him!”
She hated how the Steele family kept trying to use her to get closer to Nathaniel. That was especially the case since the Steele family’s company was in no position to collaborate with a huge company like Hadley Corporation.
“Are you saying that your marriage is fake?” I’ve heard rumors about Nathaniel avoiding women. Could it be that those rumors are actually true?
Chapter 44 I Will Set Up A Studio
Christina couldn’t be bothered to explain herself as she was not obligated to tell anyone about their relationship.
“Yes, that’s right. We’re not a real married couple, so you should stop expecting me to be the bridge between you guys,” she said and hung up the phone immediately after.
Seeing the word “Dad” on her phone screen put a wry smile on her face.
I treated him like my father, but he has never treated me like his daughter… He never calls unless he needs me to pull some strings or do him some favors. He doesn’t even ask me how I’ve been. What a joke… Oh, well… He’ll probably stop bothering me in the future, so that’s not so bad.
Although Nathaniel had gotten a lot busier lately, he would still call her and text her on a daily basis.
Christina’s daily life revolved around her office, the cafeteria, and her house.
When it was time for lunch, her colleagues suggested that they go to a nearby barbecue restaurant.
Probably because of her relationship with Nathaniel, her colleagues had gotten a lot chattier and friendlier with her all of a sudden.
Some of them would even ask her about her relationship with Nathaniel, but she would always brush their questions off with vague answers,
“Let’s go, Christina! We’ve already made reservations!” said a female colleague as they dragged her out
of the office.
It wasn’t until they arrived at the restaurant that they realized Yosef was there as well.
As they were seated directly across from him, the female colleagues were all fangirling over his elegant yet melancholic aura.
Christina was starting to wonder if they actually came here for him and not to have lunch.
She went to use the restroom before they paid the bill, and Yosef was the only one left by the time she
came out.
The waiter served them two glasses of juice after putting away the plates and utensils.
“Let’s finish this before we go.” Yosef said while handing her one of the glasses.
Christina couldn’t bring herself to decline his offer, so she sat down and took a sip of the juice. “Let’s split the bill. I’ll transfer the money over to you.”
“Sure thing. Here’s my QR code,” Yosef replied while holding his phone out.
Christina pulled out her phone and was about to scan his QR code when someone snatched her phone out of her hand.
“What do you two think you’re doing?” Nathaniel shouted angrily as he stood there, dressed in a suit
The look in his eyes grew cold when his gaze fell upon Yosef.
The aura he exuded was so frigid that nobody dared look directly at him.
Oh, no… What is Nathaniel doing here? He looks really angry. I bet he must have gotten the wrong idea. With that in mind. Christina said. “Please don’t misunderstand. I’m just paying him money for lunch.”
Nathaniel got incredibly jealous when he glanced at the table and saw that there were only two sets of plates and utensils.
“Were you two the only ones having lunch here?” he asked while trying his best to keep his anger suppressed.
Christina quickly explained, “No, there were other colleagues as well. They went back ahead of us.”
I shouldn’t have let the waiter clear the table! It’ll be a lot harder to convince Nathaniel noto!
Naturally, Yosef recognized Nathaniel as his boss, but he wasn’t afraid of being accused of something he didn’t do.
“Hey, Christina. Isn’t your boyfriend overreacting a little? There’s nothing wrong with two coworkers. having lunch together, is there?” he asked nonchalantly.
The look on Nathaniel’s face turned increasingly gloomy when he heard that. “Shut up! Outsiders. should just stay out of this!”
He had wanted to tell Yosef about their relationship, but Christina dragged him away before he could say anything. “I’m sorry, my boyfriend is a little hot-tempered”
It wasn’t until they reached a quiet alley that she stopped and asked, “Why did you have to get so mad earlier?”
There was a hint of displease in Christina’s eyes when she said that. Why is he acting like I’ve done something horrible? I didn’t do anything wrong!
Naturally, Nathaniel didn’t take too kindly to her question after everything that had just happened. “I came over to have lunch with you, only to see you dining with another man.”
“I told you, there were other colleagues with us! Could you stop being so unreasonable?” Christina exclaimed in frustration.
What is wrong with him? Am I not allowed to have a social life anymore? Or am I only allowed to hang out with women?
Although Nathaniel was still mad at her, he knew better than to continue arguing when he saw that she was getting angry. It wasn’t easy for him to finally improve their relationship, so he didn’t want to run
it over another man.
After a brief moment of silence, Nathaniel said, “I was just worried about you. Did you see how that guy dolls himself up? He’s definitely no gentleman!”
“What are you so worried about? Did you really think I’d leave you for someone else just because I had lunch with them? Am I really that fickle to you?” Christina was really getting irritated.
She had wanted to warn Nathaniel against badmouthing Yosef, but held her tongue when she saw how furious he looked. She knew that bringing that up would only add fuel to his flames of anger even
Of course, Nathaniel didn’t actually think she would leave him for someone else over a meal However, he felt as though his precious treasure was taken from him when he saw her having a great time with another man.
Not many people in the world were capable of angering Nathaniel, but Christina was the only one he couldn’t bring himself to argue with.
Nathaniel tried his best to suppress his rage as he said, “What’s the point in working at a place like this? You should just resign and leave this company. If you like designing so much, I’ll set up a studio just for you! How about that?”
There are plenty of male colleagues at her workplace, so there’s no telling if she’ll run into perverts who want to take advantage of her. It’s better if I provide her with an isolated environment and cut her off from all those other guys! Also, she’s always so busy, and I can’t believe I need to make an appointment just to have lunch with her! It feels as though we’re having a business meeting instead!
Now you’re just going overboard. I’m doing just fine at work, so why should I quit my job?” Christina had had enough of his unreasonable behavior.
Has he ever considered seeking my opinion on things? That was so disrespectful! Was his gentle personality just a lie to conceal his ugly nature? He’s being unreasonable when things aren’t going his way!
Nathaniel genuinely thought his suggestion was a great idea, so he didn’t understand why she got so worked up about it. “It’s so difficult for me to just come and see you. You’re either busy at work, dining with your colleagues, or clocking in overtime!”
He was starting to get tired of going out of his way and compromising for her sake when he himself was swamped with work, too.
While he found it refreshing at first, doing it for a prolonged period of time was starting to wear him down. It would be a lot easier for them to spend time with each other if her schedule wasn’t so packed.
I do like it when Nathaniel comes over to spend time with me, but now it turns out I’m the only one enjoying it. I don’t want him to be so tired and stressed out because of me.
With that in mind, Christina let out a sigh and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would be such a huge burden to you. You don’t have to come and see me if I’m working overtime.”
Realizing that she had misunderstood him, Nathaniel asked anxiously, “Isn’t it every designer’s dream. to own a studio of their own? I’m just helping you make that dream a reality here. What’s so wrong
about that?”
Chapter 45 Do Not Need Your Money
Christina’s career goal was to set up a studio for her own brand. Currently, her priority was to gain more experience in preparation for the future.
It was something she wanted to achieve through her own hard work and capabilities and not by relying on others.
Christina’s expression tensed as she said, “I won’t take your money to set up my studio.”
el felt as if a boule was weighing on his heart. Countless women were dying to get close to Fair benefits from him but did not have the opportunity to. He simply could not understand ristina would reject him.
Men like Zachary seemed to get their way with any woman they wanted just by buying them branded watches or luxury cars. However, it had the opposite effect when Nathaniel tried to make Christina happy by spending money on her.
Is it that embarrassing for her to use my money?
Nathaniel did not have the patience to continue arguing with Christina. Besides, he did not know what else he could say.
Just then, Christina’s phone rang. It was Gina calling to ask for the design draft. After Christina exchanged a few words with the woman, she hung up and glanced at Nathaniel.
She noticed that his face was clouded over. Under his thick brows were a pair of dark, deep-set eyes. He had a high nose bridge and was pressing his thin lips tightly together. Moreover, dressed in a black suit, the man was looking exceptionally elegant and aloof.
As the man was in a bad mood, his sharp features looked even more intimidating. Even at a distance, one could feel the chillness he was emitting.
Christina opened her mouth to speak but did not seem to be able to find the right words. “I have to get back to work now,” she quickly said before walking out of the alley.
Fixing his gaze on the woman’s diminishing figure, Nathaniel could feel anger rising in him.
His stomach was rumbling in hunger, and he could not believe that Christina had left him there.
That was the first time Nathaniel had felt such anger. He had lost all his appetite and stormed out of the alley.
Instead of returning to the office, he headed to the top floor of Radiant Corporation’s building and called for a meeting with the other two of the company’s largest shareholders.
Zachary was halfway through a discussion with the Public Relations Department when he was summoned.
“What brings you here? Don’t you have work to handle at Hadley Corporation?”
When Nathaniel joined Radiant Corporation back then, it was decided that Zachary would be the one
in charge of the company’s operations while Nathaniel would simply receive dividends and remain behind
scenes.
niel shot a cold glare at Zachary and tossed a piece of document from the HR department in
i him. “Fire this designer.”
Zachary picked up the profile of the designer and saw the picture of a handsome man with fair skin. “What’s wrong? Did he offend you?”,
Zachary was no fool. He knew that the reason Nathaniel suddenly showed up at the company was not simple.
Without giving an explanation, Nathaniel reached for the landline phone on the desk and passed it to his friend.
As both of them had grown up together, Zachary knew Nathaniel’s character very well. Judging by the look in his eyes, it was clear that the man was not joking.
Zachary put down the phone and said, “I had a hard time persuading him to stay with us, and we have just renewed his contract for another year. If we fire him now, we would have to pay him a large amount of compensation.”
He knew that Nathaniel wasn’t someone who would act on his impulses, and neither would he bring his personal issues to work.
“Is it because of Christina?” Zachary’s suspicions were confirmed when he noticed how Nathaniel was keeping quiet.
Slapping his thigh in realization, the man teased, “I didn’t expect you to get jealous so easily.”
“Cut the crap and do as I say.” Nathaniel showed no intention of relenting. “Didn’t you mention that the company is setting up a branch office overseas? Just send him there.”
“But, Nathaniel…”
“Either that, or you fire him. It’s decided.” Nathaniel was simply unwilling to hear Zachary out.
As such, Zachary had no choice but to agree. It was such a shame that he had to send away a talent. whom he had put in so much effort to acquire.
He looked up and saw Nathaniel’s grim expression. It was as if the entire world had offended him.
Zachary stood up and asked in concern, “Did you do something to upset your girl?”
“Get lost.”
Zachary chuckled, amused at Nathaniel’s stubbornness. The next moment, he took out a restaurant’s VIP card from his pocket and placed it on the table.
*Let me give you a tip. This restaurant has an excellent ambiance. Every woman I have taken there loved the place.” Zachary left after saying that.
Nathaniel picked up the gold card and fell into deep thought as he spun it between his fingers.
I should try case her, in case she uses this as an excuse to bring up divorce again.
whole lot of patience, Nathaniel finally managed to bridge the distance between him and
and he did not want his efforts to go to waste because of such a trivial matter.
me contemplation, he took out his phone and texted Christina.
Soon, it was time for Christina to knock off. As it had been a few days since she last visited her mother at the hospital, she intended to bring her some change of clothes after work.
After settling her work for the day, Christina grabbed her bag and left the office on the dot.
She only saw the message from Nathaniel when she arrived at the Steele residence. He had sent her a short text, inviting her to have dinner together at eight that night.
Since he had taken the initiative to reconcile with her, she had no reason to stay angry over something so inconsequential.
Christina glanced at the time and figured that she would be able to reach on time. After sending her reply, she entered her mother’s room,
The moment she opened the door, a gust of dusty air filled her nostrils. As there were plenty of housekeepers in the Steele residence, it was clear that they had intentionally overlooked her mother’s room when they were doing the cleaning.
However, that was nothing compared to how the Steele family previously mistreated Christina and her
mother.
In fact, Christina’s mother had already moved out for quite some time. As the weather was turning cold, Christina specially made the trip back to pack some winter clothes, so that she wouldn’t have to return again.
“Why is Alfred not doing his job? Why did he let you in?” Emilia’s sarcastic voice sounded behind Christina.
Used to the woman’s taunts, Christina continued packing the clothes without even turning around.
Emilia’s anger spiked after she was ignored. She strode into the room and grabbed Christina’s collar while bellowing, “Didn’t you hear me talking to you? I could smell your pathetic scent from a distance away…
As Emilia exerted considerable force, Christina’s phone fell out of her pocket and hit the floor.
Christina turned around and fixed her frosty gaze on Emilia as she said, “Well, I definitely didn’t smell anything weird before you came in. As for you, not even the most expensive clothing could mask the horrible stench you’re giving off.”
“Christina, who do you think you are? How dare you talk to me so disrespectfully? Like what my mom said, a b*tch like you doesn’t deserve to be wearing such fine-quality clothing. In fact, you’re not fit to have anything good!” Emilia widened her eyes in fury. At that moment, she had lost all her composure as an elegant lady and behaved just like an unreasonable shrew.
Christina’s expression darkened. While walking out with her luggage in hand, she replied, “Who are whors for formel 1 don’t wood thing offering will
Chapter 46 Why Are You Not Running Anymore
A single glance at the cheap phone was enough for Emilia to know that it belonged to Christina.
Walking over, she snagged the phone, planning to toss it into the trash can. Out of curiosity, she took a look at the screen. Surprisingly, she saw a message from Nathaniel, who asked whether Christina had arrived at the restaurant.
Didn’t Dad say that Christina and Nathaniel’s marriage is fake? Why would they have dinner together? Ah, she must have lied to Dad because she wasn’t willing to help the Steele family out!
She keyed in Christina’s birthday and unlocked the phone. When she was done replying to the message, she threw it away.
Meanwhile, Christina went to the hospital to visit her mother after leaving the Steele residence.
Recently, her mother suffered a relapse and had been hospitalized for a few days. It was not serious, but Christina still urged her to have a full-body checkup.
They both inquired after each other’s health, and Christina told her mother about the interesting things at work lately.
Subsequently, she went to the counter and paid the hospitalization fees. There was little money left on her bank card, and she would only receive her salary next month.
She had just returned to the hospital room and sat for a while when visitation hours ended. A nurse came and requested that she leave.
When she left the hospital, she abruptly remembered Nathaniel asking her out for dinner. It was only when she planned to return a call to him did she realize that her phone was gone.
She had no idea where she had lost it. Worried about making Nathaniel wait, she hailed a taxi and rushed to the restaurant,
Upon arrival, she gave the server Nathaniel’s name. The server led her to the private room before leaving.
The decoration in the private room was incredibly romantic. All the candles were arranged into heart shapes, and the tablecloth was red. Even the furnishings were very much unique.
It’s already eight-thirty. Could Nathaniel be late because he’s busy with work?
Christina waited for him on the couch. A wave of drowsiness suddenly assailed her after she had bustled around for the entire day, and she dozed off.
By the time the server woke her up, it was already ten o’clock, and the restaurant was closing for the day.
Hmm, Nathaniel probably couldn’t contact me since my phone is missing. Gah! Why did I have to misplace my phone? The mere thought of it irritated her.
The moment she stepped out of the restaurant, a gust of wind hit her, causing her to shiver in the cold.
She had little money on her then. Since she had used more than half of it to take a taxi there carlier, e couldnly choose to board the bus.
the last bus, so there were only a few people. Christina found a seat and sat down. Leaning back against the chair, she gazed at the scenery outside.
As the silhouette of the scenery flashed past her eyes in a continuous stream, Nathaniel’s countenance inexplicably popped into her mind.
After alighting from the bus, she still had to walk a distance before arriving at her house. Down in the dumps, she trudged along like a tortoise,
Out of the blue, she sensed something amiss. Huh? It sounds as though someone is walking in sync with my footsteps.
She snapped her head back in bewilderment. But then, there was no one behind her. In fact, the entire street was empty.
However, that made her feel all the more uneasy. Everyone had their own auras. When two people’s auras appeared at the same time, the other party would undoubtedly sense it.
The quieter one’s surroundings were, the easier it was to sense it.
Realizing that danger was lurking behind her, Christina quickened her pace. At the thought that someone with nefarious intentions might pop out, her heart abruptly started pounding.
She had only trotted a few steps ahead when the figure hiding behind her stepped out of the darkness. “Ahh!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs even as she began running as fast as her legs could her.
carry Along the terribly cold street in the dead of night, her screams were swallowed by the darkness. Practically no one heard her.
When she was finally about to reach her house, a sense of relief suffused her. However, just two seconds after that, her long hair was yanked by a brute force from behind.
She fell to the ground hard as a result, a stabbing pain shooting up her knees when they grazed the gravel road.
“D*mn, you’re pretty fair and bonny. Why’d you stop running?” The man’s face was obscured by the darkness, and only his malicious smile was visible.
Christina climbed to her feet. Her expression remained calm and unruffled, but inwardly, she was trembling in fear. “Don’t hurt me. I’ll give you all my money.”
“I want both your money and body. Be good, and I’ll be gentle with you.” The man stalked closer to her, step by step. It was a narrow path, and if she wanted to escape, she needed to run faster than a professional athlete.
Sheer terror swamped Christina. She had seen too many news reports of people encountering perverts while walking home alone late at night. All the hair on her body bristled with hostility.
Withou warning, the man grabbed her wrist. “This is more like it. Don’t fight me-”
fore the man could even finish his sentence, he was sent flying like a bowling pin by a single punch.
ried out in pain before spewing a mouthful of blood.
Frowning, Nathaniel scrutinized Christina, who had gone pale in fright. “Are you okay?”
At the sight of the familiar handsome countenance before her, Christina breathed a sigh of relief. Under the dim lights, Nathaniel’s jaw was clenched tightly, rendering his features exceptionally icy and flinty. His unfathomable eyes gave others a sense of a frigid mysteriousness.
After ascertaining that Christina was fine, he strode over to the man. With his eyes emanating frost, he kicked the man a few times. Snapping sounds echoed along the silent stretch of road.
Anyone with an ounce of knowledge of human anatomy would be able to tell that those were sounds of bones breaking.
Only when Nathaniel had made his way back to Christina did he notice her scraped knees and elbows. Blood dyed her shirt red, forming red floral patterns.
Unbidden, he recalled such a shade of red on the white bedsheet after a bout of passion on the night they met for the first time.
His Adam’s apple bobbed furtively. Scooping her up, he carried her to the car.
Without further ado, he floored the gas pedal and sped to a private hospital.
He said nothing throughout the entire drive. When Christina made to get out of the car, he had already circled over and scooped her up.
As he marched into the hospital, all the staff seemingly knew him, for their expressions changed drastically at the sight of him.
In the emergency room, Nathaniel impatiently ordered, “Have a female doctor come over.”
Murmuring an acquiescence, the nurse standing at the door promptly left.
Nathaniel had Christina sit on the hospital bed while he studied the injury on her knees. The skin had broken, with blood oozing out and sand sticking to the flesh. It made for a distressing sight.
Soon, the nurse returned with a doctor. “Mr. Hadley, all the female doctors have gone off work. There are only male doctors.” She spoke in a mere whisper as though afraid of being scolded.
Nathaniel threw the male doctor a glacial look. “Never mind. Bring me the necessary equipment.”
Not daring to tarry, the nurse hastily prepared everything and place them aside. Then, she went out and closed the door behind her.
Nathaniel carefully cleaned Christina’s wounds. His brows inexorably creased even deeper, likely because he found her wounds ghastly.
When he applied antiseptic to her wound, he blew on it to alleviate the stinging pain.
*Bear with it a while more. Ill be done in no time.”
kay”
For coc hrst time, Christina stared down at him. It would be a lie to claim that she was not moved when a tall and prideful man was willing to bend down and clean her wounds right then
Never had she seen him being so considerate. His motements were unbelievably gentle, as though caring for something precious
A wealth of warmth filled the softest part of her heart, melting her from the inside out
Attaching a Band Aid over her wound. Nathaniel casually asked. “I thought you were at home. Why were you only going back at euch an hour
At his question, Christina’s heart lurched. “Didn’t we agree on having dinner together at the testaurant”
Chapter 47 I Misplaced My Phone
hen Nathaniel and Christina’s words contrasted, the problem immediately came to light.
Nathaniel was a smart man, so he perceived the issue right away. “Where’s your phone?”
He had been calling her for the entire night and texting her incessantly, but she did not answer his calls or reply to his messages.
Thinking that she was still mad, he was contemplating whether to knock on her door to seek her out when he heard her terrified cry.
Christina hung her head like a child who had done something wrong. “I misplaced my phone.”
A mixture of complex emotions brewed in Nathaniel’s eyes. “You waited at the restaurant for the whole night?”
Saying nothing, Christina kept her head lowered.
She felt utterly stupid for waiting for him at the restaurant.
At her silence, Nathaniel’s muted fury dissipated. He pinned his eyes on her pitiful face, his voice growing tender. “Why didn’t you give me a call?”
“I was afraid I’d disrupt your work.”
I thought he would arrive after a while. I didn’t expect such an incident to transpire.
Unlocking his phone, Nathaniel showed her a message that came from her number. It read: I’m not going to have dinner with you. I don’t like you either, so stop pestering me.
Nonetheless, it was clear as day that she wasn’t the one who sent such a harsh and sarcasm-filled message.
All of a sudden, Christina remembered she bumped into Emilia when she made a trip back to the Steele residence to pack her clothes.
Realization struck her like a bombshell at that moment.
If Nathaniel hadn’t come to my rescue today, considering the situation at that time… the consequences would’ve been devastating!
Rage blazed in her eyes. I’ll definitely have her pay for this severalfold!
“It wasn’t me! I’d never send such a message!” Snatching Nathaniel’s phone away, she deleted the message right away.
Her childish action amused Nathaniel greatly. Half an hour ago, he resembled a lion ready to pounce anytime, but at present, the rainbow had appeared after the storm.
He caressed her hair gently with his massive palm. “Don’t be mad. I know you’d never do such a thing.”
After a he could sense that she had also been sincere toward him all this time.
Subsequently, he scooped her up. “It’s very late, and you’ll disturb your granny if you return home at this hour. You should spend the night at Scenic Garden Manor tonight.”
Seeing that it was already past midnight, Christina hesitated slightly before replying, “Okay.”
In all the time they had been separated, it was the first time she agreed to return to Scenic Garden Manor. That placed Nathaniel in a great mood. He carried her to the car and sped back to the Scenic Garden Manor.
gates of Christina herself had never imagined that she would willingly step foot into the place again one day. She looked at the familiar furnishings that she had always found an eyesore in the past. Presently, however, she felt that Nathaniel had pretty good taste.
From the living room, the two of them went to the master bedroom on the second floor.
Christina’s clothes were still in the closet, for Nathaniel did not throw her things away following her departure.
Nathaniel carried her into the bathroom straight away. Loosening his arms around her, he let her stand on the backs of his feet.
He propped a hand against the wall, confining her within his embrace. Tilting his head a fraction, his thin lips almost touched the woman’s car.
“Shall I help you since you’re injured?”
His voice had a deep undertone to it that could seemingly tug on one’s heartstrings.
Christina’s cheeks flushed bright red, and heat radiated from them in waves. “No, it’s okay.”
Her voice was thready, making her sound like a newborn kitten, pitiful and weak.
The more meek and delicate she appeared, the greater Nathaniel’s desire to tease her. “But I want to help.”
Christina pushed him away, Exerting slight force, Nathaniel closed the distance she placed between
them.
The distance between them grew even more negligible, their warm breaths brushing past each other’s cheeks. A sense of intimacy pervaded the entire bathroom.
Perhaps her nerves had been stretched too taut that Christina felt like all the cells in her body were alive, and every breath of his was beyond refreshing.
“I’m not joking around. I really missed you.”
Nathaniel’s voice was soft, but Christina heard him loud and clear. “I missed you, too-
Before her words had fallen, he had captured her thin lips.
new delicate and gentle, while the other was domineering and possessive.
im yellow light shone down obliquely overhead, reflecting the couple’s overlapping shadows on the gian door.
The harsh sounds of breathing made their bodies heat up. The chaos of the entire world faded with their heartbeats the only thing remaining.
The first rays of sunlight on that early autumn morning carried a hint of cool breeze.
As soon as Christina opened her eyes, she was greeted by Nathaniel’s devilishly handsome countenance. Her slumbering heart skipped a beat, and she promptly jolted wide awake.
away,
She had never been one to laze in bed, but at that moment, she actually wanted to sleep for a while longer. As she gazed at the man’s peaceful sleeping countenance, it felt as though the world had become a better place.
A smile bloomed on her face. Without warning, the closed door was pushed open, and a figure barged
1.
“You’re downright shameless, Christina! You’ve already divorced my son, yet you still have the guts to
come here!”
The woman standing by the bed with wrath etched across her features was none other than Julia.
She had a spy in the house, and that person told her about Christina having spent the night at Scenic Garden Manor early in the morning.
Christina’s expression changed, and fury colored her eyes. Her chest felt as though a heavy boulder. was weighing on it.
Before she could retort, Nathaniel shielded her behind him. His eyes blazed with suppressed anger, and his voice dripped with hostility. “Get out!”
Julia’s face flushed bright red. At the sight of them both wearing casual pajamas and sleeping in each other’s arms, any adult could tell the events that had transpired last night.
Ever since she learned that Nathaniel had recovered, she had been obsessed with having Xandra marry into the family as soon as possible. Argh! Never have I expected this b*tch to keep clinging to Nathaniel!
In an icy voice, she scoffed, “Don’t you find yourself revolting, Christina? I’ve already kicked you out of the house, but you’re still adamant about climbing into Nathaniel’s bed. Are you that desperate for
men?”
She seized the opportunity to insult Christina so that the latter would not dare step foot into Scenic Garden Manor anymore.
With her face drained of all color, Christina rolled out of bed and shot daggers at the woman before
her.
I didn’t do anything with Nathaniel last night. All we did was sleep together. Yet, she’s making it sound as though we did something shameful. Since she’s so opposed to us getting back together, I’ll do exactly that!
“I’m no desperate for men. Nathaniel alone is enough for me!” She emphasized the word “enough” with the corners of her mouth lifting a fraction. She looked as alluring as the most beautiful woman in he world.
“How dare you! What impertinence!” Julia was so livid that she was on the verge of getting physical with Christina.
Nathaniel’s good mood that morning was completely ruined. He stood between the two women. “Mom, Christina and I are not divorced. Don’t insult her in front of me!”
At that, Julia was wholly stunned.
In all the years I raised him, this is the first time he ever spoke to me in such a tone. All this is on that b*tch, Christina! Who does she think she is? A commoner like her isn’t worthy of marrying into the Hadley family! She is downright unworthy of Nathaniel, who enjoys a high status!
“Don’t forget your identity, Christina! You’re merely a woman I bought back then to marry Nathaniel to aid his recovery. Don’t think you can become the mistress of the Hadley family just because you’ve gotten involved with him!
Chapter 48 How About Moving Back
Christina felt as though ice had encased her entire body, the cold engulfing her from head to toe.
Naturally, I’d never forget that the two families had a business deal back then. We agreed that I was to leave once the time is up. All this while, I’d always remembered my place, never once harboring any thought of getting involved with Nathaniel….
Upon hearing no retort from her. Julia instantly knew that she had hit a sore spot. “Remember your identity. I don’t mind even if you have some kind of intimate relationship with Nathaniel
Christina blanched further.
Accordingly, Julia’s voice turned even harsher. “However, I can also tell you this clearly-as long as remain part of the Hadley family, you can forget about becoming my daughter-in-law. To me, you’re merely an ornament. I bought for show. When the time comes. I’ll throw you away. An ornament will forever be an ornament You’re too naive if you actually think you’d earn a place in the Hadley famil
Never would I allow a girl without any statue or family background to marry into the Hadley far
Taking Christina’s hand. Nathaniel hid her behind him. “That’s my business. I’ll also tell you this clearly —I’ll never divorce Christina! So long as I remain part of the Hadley family, she will be my wife
It was supposed to be a sweet and romantic morning, but it had turned into a battlefield after the whole debacle
Christina’s fingertips were cold from distress, and she quietly retracted her hand from the man’s grip “Im going to work”
She wanted to leave in her pajamas, but it went without saying that Nathaniel did not allow it. He grabbed her hand. “Go out, Mom”
Julia had said everything she wanted to say and attained her goal, so she knew it was pointless for her to stay
Harrumphing at Christina, she strolled out of the room.
When the door slammed shut. Nathaniel grasped Christina’s hands in anguish. “Don’t bother About my mother. You know I don’t share her sentiments.”
Christina’s mind was buzzing her thoughts a jumbled mess
I should’ve long since known my place. But all the time I spent with Nathaniel recently made that slip my mind. “I’m about to be late for work”
Withdrawing her hand from his, she went to the bathroom to change
When she went downstairs, she did not even bother having breakfast Noticing her grun expression, Nathamel did not force the issue He had the driver send her to work
After arriving at the other, Christina could not really register what exactly her team leader and during
the meeting in the morning.
At noon, a courier staff delivered a box to her. It was the latest phone.
Winout even thinking about it, she knew that it was from Nathaniel.
She initially wanted to turn it down arrogantly, but she suddenly remembered that she had little money left after paying her mother’s hospitalization fees, and it was exceedingly inconvenient to be without a phone when she was living in such a fast-paced city.
Mere moments after she had received the phone, Nathaniel called. Only then did she realize that a SIM card had already been installed in it.
“Since you didn’t eat anything in the morning, come to my company at noon.” Nathaniel’s voice was a touch hoarse.
At once, Christina made up an excuse and declined. “I need to work overtime at noon.
“Then, I’ll go and look for you instead.” Nathaniel was seemingly determined to have lunch with her.
Glancing at the location, Christina discovered that the two companies were actually pretty close. “I’ll go
over.”
“Okay.”
On the other end of the phone, Nathaniel hung up in gratification.
When it was time for lunch, Christina hurriedly left the office after packing her things.
By the time she arrived at Hadley Corporation, Nathaniel had already informed the receptionist about her visit. For that reason, she made it to the floor where the CEO’s office was located without a hitch.
The place was even more high-end than Radiant Corporation. As the cold shadows were reflected onto the long corridor, they gave off a sense of desolation.
Sebastian led Christina in.
It was her first time visiting Nathaniel’s office. A large and sleek desk occupied the space, and every single ornament was beyond exquisite.
One could tell that he had impeccable taste.
When she walked into the room, Nathaniel was still looking at documents. The instant he heard footsteps, he casually placed the documents down.
He lifted his handsome face. Beneath his sharp brows were a pair of bright ebony eyes. Regretfully, his features lent him an air of chilliness. He had a high nose bridge and thin lips that formed an icy arc. On top of that, his tightly clenched jaw gave off a haughty sense of aloofness.
Leaving the room, Sebastian closed the door behind him.
Nathaniel pinned his eyes on her, the corners of his mouth curling a fraction. “Come here.”
Christina walked over to him. The air-conditioning in the office was very low, and it was making her freeze.
Grabbing her hand, Nathaniel exerted slight strength and yanked her into his embrace.
He studied her profile with a scorching gaze, finding every part of her lovely and pleasing to the eye.
Subsequently, he rested his chin on her shoulder as though he needed some comfort in his weariness from work. “Are you hungry?”
As Christina had not eaten anything in the morning, she was indeed hungry. “Yeah.”
Nathaniel inhaled the fragrance emanating off her. “I’ve instructed Sebastian to make the arrangements. Right now, let’s have some dessert first.”
Before Christina could make any sense of his meaning, he had already captured her lips.
She wanted to rebuff him, but her hands unconsciously rested against his neck. The two of them kissed until Sebastian knocked on the door.
It was not until then that Nathaniel let go of her reluctantly. He dragged her to the conference room for lunch.
He chose not to eat in the office because he disliked the lingering smell of food.
There was a long black table made of polished marble in the conference room, so he did not have to worry about scratching it.
To Christina’s surprise, the conference room appeared to have been temporarily converted into a mini restaurant, complete with all the equipment needed to cook.
A middle-aged man in a chef’s uniform was grilling ready-made steaks.
At a closer look, one could see that his chef’s uniform was embroidered with the words “Clarus Restaurant.” Oh my God, he’s a chef from a five-star establishment! Yet, he came to the office to cook us lunch! “Chefs from Clarus Restaurant offer private cooking services?” Surprise flooded Christina.
Sebastian placed the menu in front of her. “It’s because Mr. Hadley has the power to request it. Other people won’t be able to accomplish this.”
In response, Christina nodded in understanding-
Nathaniel was usually too approachable when he was with her and never put on any airs. In fact, he had never acted like a wealthy heir before her.
Therefore, she forgot about the gap between their identities for a moment.
It was not only a street or a small stream but an infinite galaxy.
While she was distracted, a searing palm enveloped her hand under the table.
“Why is your hand so cold?” Nathaniel asked softly.
Kight then, there were still many people in the conference room, including the chef, assistant chef, and Sebastian.
Christina’s expression froze briefly, and she wanted to retract her hand. Alas, the man tightened his grip.
“There’s someone else here, she whispered.
Despite having gotten used to Nathaniel’s intimate gestures after all this time, she still felt embarrassed when there were others around.
“It’s out of sight, so they can’t see it. As Nathaniel said that, he brushed a finger across her palm lightly.
Christina burst into giggles. The two of them went about their game under the table for a while. When the chef finished serving them food, everyone left.
As they were the only ones remaining in the room, Christina enjoyed the food in front of her with relish. A five-star chef’s cooking is truly delicious!
Taking a sip of red wine, Nathaniel chuckled at her carefree expression. “Why don’t you move back to Scenic Garden Manor, Christina?”
His sudden suggestion took Christina aback.
Chapter 49 Busy
Christina didn’t plan to move back. After witnessing the commotion Mrs. Hadley caused during the morning. I thin if I move back, she’ll undoubtedly disturb me often.
Thus, she said, “My granny hasn’t been feeling well recently, so I want to spend a bit more time with her.”
While that was one of the reasons, another was that she found their latest circumstances comfortable. The closer we get, the more we’ll subconsciously need. If something awful happens, it won’t be easy for me to leave again if I want to.
As though Nathaniel had read her mind, he assured her with a smile, “I’ll wait for the day you’re willing to move back in.”
She blinked and found herself in a daze. His handsomeness is special. It’s not overly masculine or feminine. It sits somewhere in the middle. He can appear domineering or elegant when necessary.
After lunch. Nathaniel suggested that she rest in his lounge. There was still more than an hour left until it was time for her to work, and her company was close to his. Hence, she agreed.
There was an independent lounge in the CEO’s office, which resembled a simple suite. It had a bathroom, a bed, and a wardrobe.
As the bed had been bathed in sunlight due to its placement next to the window, Christina felt warm when she lay on the furniture.
Not long after, she fell asleep. The door was then silently pushed open before a slender hand closed the
curtains.
Nathaniel removed his suit, revealing his conspicuous muscles and his smooth waistline. It was the result of a workout routine.
The single bed became quite cramped after he lay on the furniture.
Initially, Christina was shocked by the sudden warmth. However, she lowered her guard when his unique scent entered her nose. “Why did you also come in?”
“I’m tired, and I want to sleep while hugging you. After busying about for the whole morning, he felt exhausted.
His lazy, baritone voice wormed into her ears and cradled her heart.
He wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pressed his chin on her thin shoulder. When he raised his head, he could kiss her earlobe.
It was so soft that he didn’t want to stop biting it.
As Nathaniel’s hot breath landed on Christina’s face, she felt her body was on fire, and her blood was boiling.
That instantly drove her drowsiness away. How can I sleep when he’s hugging me…..
She wanted to remove his hand resting on her waist, but when she moved, Nathaniel whispered into her ear. “Don’t move. Sleep for a while.”
After turning her sight to him, she saw him laying his head on her shoulder like a baby and burying his face in her neck.
He appeared soundly asleep as his long eyelashes brushed against his skin.
Eventually, Christina abandoned the idea of waking him up because she couldn’t bear to, but she still couldn’t sleep. All she could do was stare at the ceiling.
As the blinding light pierced through the window and landed next to her, she suddenly thought, I feel like that beam of sunlight, weak but stubborn.
After a while, she fell asleep.
By the time she woke up, it was already close to evening, and she was the only one on the bed.
Upon leaving the bed and the lounge, she saw Nathaniel sitting in his office chair, reading his documents. The suit he wore made him appear cold but elegant.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” asked Christina after she noticed it was almost four.
In response, Nathaniel put his document down. “You were sleeping very soundly, so I didn’t want to wake you up. Don’t worry. I’ll send a word to your company-
Before he could end his sentence, she sped out of his office.
Sebastian was waiting for her in Nathaniel’s car when she arrived. “Mr. Hadley ordered me to send you back.”
If not for the fact that she was in a hurry, she wouldn’t have boarded the car.
Upon reaching her company, Christina noticed her coworkers were staring at her with strange looks. She felt so awkward that she wished the ground would swallow her up.
Before work ended for the day, Gina held a group meeting and picked three designers to take charge of an upcoming exhibition.
Major corporations tended to hold exhibitions during special holidays to improve the company’s image.
In the end, Gina requested Christina to work with two other designers.
“Many preparations are still waiting for us, so try to hand in your design drafts by Monday,” Gina ordered before dismissing everyone.
After the meeting ended, Anna called out to the other two designers and suggested, “We only have three days until Monday. How about we work overtime to discuss what elements we should use? It’ll be great if we can exchange our opinions and have our drafts approved in one go.”
Sometimes, designers needed to work overtime because there were many details they had to discuss
for their designs. Their usual work time wouldn’t be enough for them to wrap up such discussions.
The others agreed. Together, they went for dinner near the company after work before returning to the office to discuss details.
While Christina’s and Anna’s opinions were mostly aligned, they kept clashing against the third designer, Pearl.
Their discussion lasted the whole night, yet they only managed to agree on the framework. Many details had yet to be finalized.
When it was almost ten, Pearl left first.
Sighing, Anna remarked, “I don’t know why Ms. Tanner placed Pearl into our group.”
She and Pearl often had conflicting ideas because they graduated from different design schools and had different styles.
However, Christina disagreed. “I think Pearl has great suggestions. We’ll likely be able to develop a draft after a little more discussion tomorrow.”
“She has been in the company for years, yet she’s still… Ugh, she’s too withdrawn. Anyway, I’ll be leaving now” Anna didn’t want to speak too much about Pearl.
After work, Christina realized she had many unread messages from Nathaniel.
Upon reading all of them, she called him.
“Have you gotten off work?” His voice sounded hoarse.
She tidied her desk and entered the elevator. “Mhm. What about you?”
“I’ll come and pick you up. I doubt there are any taxis around this late at night.” Before she could say anything, he hung up the phone.
When she exited the elevator, she saw Nathaniel’s car in front of the entrance.
As the car sped down the empty road, lights flashed past her eyes.
Christina didn’t notice he was frowning as she replied to Anna’s message.
“Are you very busy?” Nathaniel grumbled.
Moments later, she sent her message, put the phone down, and turned to him.
The darkness made his jawline appear colder, though that didn’t diminish his handsomeness.
He’s knitting his eyebrows. I think that means he’s jealous, Smiling, she replied, “A little.”
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes and shot her a warning look.
Seeing his jealousy intensify delighted her. “I’m busy looking at you, aren’t I?”
He was taken aback to hear that, as he didn’t expect she would abruptly flirt with him.
Her words instantly enraptured him as he grinned. “You have a good eye. I’ll give you that.”
Meanwhile, she was amused by his gleeful expression. I didn’t expect it’d be this easy to cheer him up.
Chapter 50 Reluctant To Leave
As they smiled at each other, their countenances were reflected in each other’s eyes.
Upon stopping the car at a red traffic light, Nathaniel suddenly raised his hand and grabbed the back of Christina’s head with his large palm.
Then he gently pulled her toward his embrace, lifted her chin, and kissed her lips. She has a sweet, refreshing fragrance I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of
As there weren’t any other cars on the street, the black Maybach remained unmoving even after the traffic light turned green.
It wasn’t until the light went through another cycle of red to green again that Nathaniel unwillingly let
Christina go.
When they did, they seemed calm, as though they hadn’t just had an intimate moment.
Half an hour later, the car arrived before a familiar building.
killed the engine and held her small hands while affectionately gazing at her delicate face.
“I’m reluctant to leave you whenever I send you home” Upon finishing his sentence, Nathaniel raised and pecked the back of her hand.
Christina smiled shyly. “You’re such a sweet-talker.”
“I’m telling the truth.” He grinned, too.
In the past, he thought he could never flirt with anyone. It wasn’t until he fell in love that he realized all sweet nothings came naturally from the heart and didn’t need to be learned.
“In two days, I’ll be going on a business trip to Hallsbay. It may be a week before I can return.” Nathaniel paused before turning to Christina. “How about you ask for a leave and accompany me there?” Hallsbay’s a prominent city, so there should be plenty of fun sights to visit.
Looking somewhat troubled, she rejected his invitation. “I’ve just received a new assignment, so I can’t leave now. How about next time?”
Of course, he was disappointed to hear that. So, money can’t solve everything, after all. Although, after our dispute last time, I’d like to avoid arguing with her over small matters. I suppose there’s nothing else I can do about this. “Okay, we’ll go there next time.”
Christina withdrew her hand. “I’ll be going back now, then.”
“Mhm.”
The atmosphere had turned slightly ambiguous.
After unbuckling her seatbelt, she kissed Nathaniel’s cheek.
Her heart raced as she blushed.
“Goodnight,” uttered Christina before she left the vehicle.
Once returning to the building, she waited until she heard his car leaving before jogging to her room.
In the following two days, both of them were very occupied with their work.
As she and her coworkers still had plenty of disagreements, their designs underwent multiple revisions before the finals were handed to Gina.
Thankfully, Gina was quite satisfied with the designs. If there were no further problems, all that was left was to manufacture the products.
Nathaniel invited Christina to dinner on the day of his departure. As busy as she was, she squeezed out some time to join him.
He brought her to a famous, tastefully decorated restaurant known as West Coast. Inside, anywhere. they looked, they could see works of art.
The establishment had only ten tables, so the interior seemed quite spacious. Also, almost all tables had been taken since it was dinner time then.
Just as the couple took their seats, the owner personally greeted them before requesting a waiter to
serve them a bottle of precious fruit wine.
Nathaniel still had to drive later, so he poured half a glass of wine for Christina and none for himself.
The dishes were served relatively quickly, and she liked all of them. She also enjoyed the wine because it tasted sour and sweet at the same time.
Holding a fork and a knife, he elegantly sliced his steak. “It’ll be your grandmother’s birthday soon. What present should I get for her?”
She was slightly surprised he remembered Evelyn’s birthday, “I think anything’s fine. She won’t mind.”
Under the atmospheric lighting. Christina’s small face resembled a matured fruit as the wine she consumed rendered her cheeks slightly pink.
Nathaniel put a few pieces of his steak in front of her. I’ll return as soon as I can. Her birthday’s on the third, right?”
Christina’s heart pounded as she nodded. It has been so long since someone has valued me greatly, so much so that I’ve forgotten how it felt like. I think the last time I experienced something like this was after Mom was forced out of the Steele family.
After dinner, he escorted her to the entrance.
Before they left, they entered his vehicle for one last intimate moment as emotions stirred in their hearts.
They gazed at each other wordlessly before drawing closer until their lips touched.
Concurrently, the temperature of the air slowly rose.
After they split up, they went their own separate ways.
Nathaniel frequently sent messages to Christina during his trip, no matter how busy he got.
Even if the messages were short, they were still a slight respite from the couple’s boring jobs.
A week later, the clothes Christina’s team designed officially entered the market.
In less than three days, their latest model broke sales records. Furthermore, five or six of the models kept selling out.
When the news broke in the company, the ladies behind that success became the center of everyone’s
attention.
Christina wasn’t surprised by the results as she had created the designs after comparing many data.
“Your new models broke another record today, Christina!”
“I heard Christina’s the main designer. Even Anna’s just her assistant.”
Embarrassed by the praises, Christina humbly refuted. “All three of us are responsible for this success. Thank you, everyone, for your support.”
One of her colleagues asked. “Considering how well you did, don’t you think you should treat us all to a meal?”
The others nodded in agreement.
Christina was too embarrassed to reject that proposal, so she agreed and allowed her colleagues to pick. the place.
After work, they all took a taxi to West Coast as they had already booked a private room there. It was only then Christina was aware they had picked this restaurant.
Upon their arrival, they immediately requested the waiter to serve the dishes.
“To save time, we’ve already ordered the food on the phone. You won’t mind, will you, Christina?” Anna grinned.
Gina was also present and only learned her colleagues had already ordered the dishes when she arrived.
Why is she asking me if I’ll mind when the dishes, all of which are expensive seafood, are already served? Smiling. Christina said, “I don’t mind. Let’s dig in, everyone.”
Plenty of people at the table flattered her. Occasionally, they would ask about her family background or the price of her branded clothing.
However, they were most interested in the gossip about her relationship with Nathaniel.
It was very likely the other questions were just a lead-up to that topic.
They all stared at Christina curiously as though they were eager to dissect her and learn everything
about her.
Typically, she would respond with a wordless grin.
It wasn’t that she wanted to hide her relationship. She just disliked others poking into her personal life.
Anna took the lead. “How did you and Mr. Hadley meet? Does he have an awesome figure? Where do you usually have your dates with him?”